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Michael Gallagher

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Posts tagged ‘dessert’

Get excited. Some steamy snickerdoodles are coming at ya! This is the classic snickerdoodle recipe, with a slight spin on it. By kicking up the cinnamon sugar coating with some pumpkin spice, these snickerdoodles truly come alive…and leave you with the reminiscent taste of the holidays. What could possibly be better? I don’t know about you, but I am obsessed with all things spice. For example, I am really not a fan of fru fru drinks at Starbucks–normally I stick with the Americano or drip coffee–but as soon as the holiday season comes around and the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Gingerbread Latte hit the menu, I can’t help but to drag myself in there and order the ridiculously overpriced, and over-caloried drink. Why? Because they are just so darn delicious, end of story. Anyways, as I put an end to my tangent, I do love the holiday spice, which is why these snickerdoodles are near and dear to my heart…or should I say sweet tooth?

Here’s the method:

First, combine all the wet and dry ingredients, as described in the directions below. The dough should be firm, before rolling into balls. If it’s not, just cover it with plastic wrap and throw it in the fridge for an hour.

Next, combine the sugar and spice, and drop the dough ball into the heavenly mixture.

Now, get the ball rollin’. As Spongebob Squarepants would say, “bring it arrrround town.” Yes, that show is still a favorite.

Completely coat the dough with sugar and spice. Sometimes, I even dip it twice to make sure every inch is covered. But shhhhhh that’s a secret. No one has to know.

Finally, place on the cookie sheet and pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes and look just how lovely they will turn out!

Just an FYI, these little beauties may tempt you to eat them all up right off the spatula, so brace yourself. Snickerdoodles are always the best right out of the oven! However, the great thing about this recipe is that even after a few days they stay soft and chewy, so they will be tasty up until the last one in the jar.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Coating:

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

*Little Yellow Note: I halved this recipe to make a small batch so I would have half as many reasons to eat junk food. I just made sure to keep the same amount of vanilla, because it is such a lovely ingredient.

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. In a bowl mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Sifting these into the bowl is a grand idea, to chase away those clumps!

3. Beat the softened butter and sugar until smooth, a couple minutes will do. Add each egg one at a time, beating well. Add the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until the dough is smooth. If the dough is soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour)

4. Shape the dough into 1 inch round balls, or whatever size you would like them to be, just make sure that they are consistent, to ensure even baking.

5. Once shaped, drop them into the bowl with the combined sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice.

6. Roll the dough balls in the sugar spice mixture and place on the cookie sheet, spacing them an inch or two apart.

7. Bake the cookies for about 8 – 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. The edges will be firm and the centers will be a little soft, this is what you will want. Remove from oven and place on a torn open brown paper bag (or wire rack, if you are fancy and have one of these).

I know that we probably cannot rave about this place enough, but Enoteca Adriano, never ceases to amaze; which is why we swooped up the last 7 o’clock reservation on Valentine’s night at this adorably romantic Italian spot. It’s really too bad that the boys were preoccupied that night, but fear not, we just took each other out for the occasion!

Burrata Enoteca

Apparently, we were the only friends who faced this minor dilemma, because everyone else in the entire restaurant was happily coupled, romantically gazing at each other, comfortably positioned hand in hand. It might be an understatement to say that, yep, it was awkward and we sure felt out of place, but the food and service was nothing but the best.

Tonight, we decided to try the Burrata Enoteca as an appetizer, which is my new favorite thing. Basically, it is a big hunk of delicious creamy fresh mozzarella. It’s more solid on the outside, but when you cut into the center, the consistency is soft and creamy. This hunk of glory was placed on top of a large slice of wonderfully cured prosciutto, accompanied by some roasted heirloom tomatoes and wilted garlic spinach, and tied together with a simple balsamic-olive oil drizzle.

We. nearly. died. It was THAT good.

Then we split the Spaghetti Polpette (translated: spaghetti and meatballs), which was just what we were looking for, after finishing such a rich and decadent appetizer.

Just as we were winding the evening down (and finishing the great bottle of wine we brought along…gotta love no-corkage Monday’s), Chef Franco came out to greet us! After expressing a mutual adoration for the Enoteca and the Little Yellow Kitchen, he came equipped with two glasses of the tastiest dessert wine, Lungarotti, and a much anticipated Pope’s Pillow. This dessert, presentation and flavor profile, is unparalleled. It is big enough to use as a pillow to catch a snooze on…and the mascarpone cream filling would sure be able to provide adequate neck support. YUM.

Needless to say, Enoteca Adriano is such a jewel in Pacific Beach (a place mostly known for its rowdy bars and influx of young college kids), quietly perched a few blocks away from the madness, on Cass Street. If you live in or ever visit San Diego, you must stop by. The amazing Chef Franco will surely greet you with open arms and will send you off with a happy tummy and a “Grazie Mille”. What more could you ask for.

This is the “neck support” I was talking about. That puff pastry square is jam-packed with mascarpone goodness.

This dessert wine brings me back to the time I spent living in Siena.

Lungarotti, Vino Dolce from the Umbria Region, Italy

I think this is the point we had to stop eating, to prevent immediate food coma… we still had to ride our bikes a few blocks home.

Fresh berries, everywhere!

The End. We got home just in time to pass out to the Bachelor. Perfect.

FYI– Here is: Enoteca Adriano’s Facebook fan page, and here is From The Little Yellow Kitchen’s Facebook fan page... we are friends you should be too!

Dirt cups may have been my favorite dessert on the kids menu growing up. I got to dig through the Oreo cookie crumb layer then dive into the chocolate pudding and then…hey look! Agummy worm! Mmmm.

We decided to recreate this basic dessert since its so delicious but add our own little zest by including a layer of peanut butter and subbing out gummy worms for gummy bears. Gummy bears are way cuter. Plus, you can bite of their heads and switch their colors around. Sort of like this…

We are the two best friends that anyone can have....we're even willing to switch heads

I thought about naming this recipe Adult Dirt Cups – almost as if I had matured or something –because of the slight alterations and serving it in a sexy martini glass. Then I started switching gummy bears heads around and reverted back to a more suiting name.

We had this pudding left over from a scrumptious Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie my mom made me for my birthday. What better use of it than to make more chocolate peanut butter creations?!I think we have a problem...

Add that puddin’ and let it rest a while.

Layer on the peanut butter and try not to think about the calories. It will be worth it, promise.

Top it off with some Oreo crumbles,

and cute little bears.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cup Delight

Ingredients:

1 pouch of chocolate pudding

crushed up Oreo cookies — be sure to lick the frosting off, you’ll just need the cookie part

peanut butter

gummy bears

Directions:

Cook pudding according to directions. Scoop it into your preferred serving dish. Let cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Put a layer of peanut butter over the pudding. Top with crushed Oreo cookies – don’t include the frosting.

Lay your gummy bears on top, or push them into the pudding for a gummy bear surprise!

I am a firm believer that any sort of Crisp is always a sure crowd, and tummy, pleaser. They are so simple to prepare, because in most cases you will always have fruit, flour, oats, butter, brown sugar, and spices on hand.

crispy and delicious... mmmm

Preparation:

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Toss them in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice, so they don’t brown, along with a pinch of cinnamon and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

Allow the apples to marinate in the love for a few minutes while you grease the ramekins with little butter. Then layer in the apples, evenly.

Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, butter & spices…honestly, its easiest (and so much fun!) to just get your hands in there and really mix in that cold butter.

Little Yellow Note: ohh, if you just-so-happen to forget that there is no cap on the pumpkin spice jar, and you were going to shake it in instead of measure the spices…and…you end up with…uh hum… just a little bit more than expected. Fear not! We found out, the more spice, the better!

Lauren said I should have taken a picture of just how much pumpkin spice went into this initially, but it was just too embarrassing. FYI- I am fairly certain that half the bottle made it in there, before I started gingerly scooping out as much as I could.

Anyways… Pack the top of each ramekin with the combined oat/flour/sugar/spice/butter mixture and it is ready to jump in the oven! You can also refrigerate them for a day or two, or even freeze them (covered of course)!

How sad. He had no idea the blood, sweat and tears that went into this delish Christmas dessert. I’m pretty sure it was inhaled without even grazing his tongue. What a waste of luscious panettone bread pudding with crème anglaise. I rightfully helped myself to another serving after this incident.

Do you have eggs, bread, cream, milk and sugar (I know my house is littered with excess of these ingredients from Christmas)? If you do, make this!

This recipe is a combination of a Giada’s bread pudding with Cooking Light’s –not so light– crème anglaise :

Bread Pudding:

1 (1-pound) loaf panettone bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/4 cups sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange the bread cubes in the prepared dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, milk, and sugar to blend. Pour the custard over the bread cubes, and press the bread cubes gently to submerge. Let stand for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing the bread cubes into the custard mixture. (Recipe can be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Creme Anglaise

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk

1 (3-inch) piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1/3 cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

Pour milk into a medium saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean (please use a vanilla bean, not extract, it makes all the difference!); add seeds and bean to milk. Cook over medium heat 6 minutes (don’t boil it); remove the bean. Remove from heat.

Combine sugar and yolks in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended. Gradually add milk mixture to bowl, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add slowly so you don’t scramble the eggs!! I almost did…then mom came to the rescue with her immersion blender :). Return mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat 6 minutes or until mixture thinly coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly with a whisk. Immediately pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and chill (mixture will thicken as it sets).

This sauce would also be very tasty on some fresh berries for breakfast!